LOGAN, Utah – Utah State volleyball improved to 10-0 in conference play for only the second time in program history, defeating UNLV, 3-1 (26-28, 25-16, 26-24, 25-21), on Saturday afternoon at the Wayne Estes Center. USU's 10-0 start to Mountain West action ties that of the 1979 squad who went a perfect 10-0 in IAC play.

Set One
Fresh off a heartstopping five-set win on Thursday night, the Aggies carried over momentum into the first set on Saturday. Junior defensive specialist Jagoda Bialek keyed three separate 3-0 bursts by the Aggies in the opening frame with a service ace in each run, the last of which set USU up for set point at 24-21. The Rebels, however, battled back with three-consecutive points to extend the set before ultimately taking a 28-26 win to begin the match. The Aggies emphatically took control of the second set, opening the frame with a 7-0 run. Sophomore setter Kaylie Kofe recorded a pair of aces, a kill and three assists during the set-opening run. USU led by as many as eight points following a solo block from senior middle blocker Tierney Barlow. After UNLV fought back within four points at 18-14, the Aggies all but clinched the win with a 5-0 burst featuring an ace from junior libero/defensive specialist Kendel Thompson plus a pair of kills by sophomore outside hitter Andrea Simovski. Following a singular Rebel point to break up the run, sophomore opposite side hitter Loryn Helgesen came through with the final kill to secure the 25-16 win for the Aggies. The third set featured several runs by each team as UNLV jumped ahead early with a 5-1 run before the Aggies answered with a 6-0 burst of their own. Sophomore outside hitter Mara Štiglic recorded three kills and joined Barlow for a block while Simovski added a kill and ace to push Utah State back in front. The Rebels responded with a 5-0 run that ushered in a prolonged stretch in which neither side led by more than two points. Štiglic eventually wrestled control for USU with three kills that spurred a 5-1 run to put USU at set point with a 24-21 lead. The Rebels again responded in a dire situation, scoring three-straight points to tie it at 24 before Simovski and Helgesen came through in the clutch with back-to-back kills to score the 26-24 win for the Aggies. Both sides continued to exchange runs in what would ultimately be the final set. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Lauren Larkin and Helgesen recorded a pair of block assists to jumpstart a 6-1 run for USU which the Rebels then answered with a 4-0 stretch to retake the lead. The Aggies took the advantage right back with a 10-3 stretch. Larkin kicked off the run with another block, this time alongside Štiglic, while Barlow recorded USU's last four points of the run, all on kills, to put Utah State up 19-13. The Rebels clawed back within two points courtesy of a 5-1 run before Barlow halted the comeback with her seventh kill of the set. Kofe further cemented USU's advantage with a solo block on UNLV's Jaida Harris, who ranks second in the MW in kills per set. As they did in set three, Helgesen and Simovski then supplied the final kills to clinch the 25-21 win and move Utah State to 10-0 in Mountain West play. 

• Utah State hit .217 and had four players reach double-digit kills for the third time this season (vs Marquette and at Colorado State).
• Helgesen led the Aggies in kills for the third-straight match, finishing with 18 kills and adding five digs and two blocks.
• Barlow tied her season-high with 16 kills on a team-high .394 hitting percentage, also adding three digs and three blocks, including one solo.
• Štiglic and Simovski added 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Simovski added 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
• Kofe led USU with 50 assists, her fifth match this season with 50 or more assists, and set a career-high with 23 digs to record her ninth double-double this season.
• Thompson added 17 digs plus seven assists and made 46 of USU's 78 total service receptions. 
• Larkin and Štiglic tied for the team lead with four blocks each.
• The Aggies are now 10-0 to begin conference play for the first time since 1979 when the Aggies went an undefeated 10-0 in the IAC.
• USU's current 11-match winning streak is tied for the program's second-longest of the 21st century alongside an 11-game streak in 2010 and trailing only the team's 14-game streak in 2023. 
• Utah State's streak of 10-straight conference victories is the fourth-longest streak in program history, trailing only the aforementioned 2023 streak of 14 plus a 13-match streak in 1977-78 and a program-record 16-match streak across the 1979 and 1980 season.
• The Aggies are the first team to start MW play at 10-0 since UNLV went an undefeated 12-0 during conference play in the COVID-shortened 2020 season (spring 2021).

Up Next
Utah State heads back to the road for rematches against this week's opponents. USU will first face San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. (MT), before again taking on UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. (MT).  - USU -